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FELONY CHARGES FOR FAKE VETERAN WHO SOUGHT
BENEFITS -- "He had lots and lots of different
paperwork.
How he obtained that paperwork, we have no
idea.
He was absolutely not a veteran."
Phonies...
For more about wannabes and phony vets, use the
VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/
sessearch.php?q=phony+
wannabe&op=or
Story here...
http://www.suburbanchicago
news.com/beaconnews/news/588067,2
_1_AU04_VETERAN_S1.article
Story below:
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Felony charges for fake veteran
BY MATT HANLEY
Staff Writer
A 68-year-old man has been charged with multiple felonies after trying
to pass himself off as a Vietnam veteran.
Douglas Robinson was arrested in Wisconsin Saturday on a warrant issued
sometime after he visited Kendall County's Veterans Assistance
Commission in August.
According to a statewide bulletin sent out by a coalition of veterans
groups, Robinson and his wife have been visiting local veterans relief
organizations, claiming he is an Army veteran.
Robinson and his wife ask for help with food and housing, and claim they
are fighting with the Army to get benefits he is owed since he retired
in 1999, the bulletin said.
Kendall County Veterans Commission Superintendent Ed Dixon said he
suspected something wasn't right with the story almost as soon as
Robinson walked into his office.
"We debunked most of it," Dixon said. "Self-initiated forms don't count.
I need verification that you're a veteran."
According to Dixon, Robinson supplied several documents with conflicting
military ID numbers. When Dixon contacted the national military
personnel center in St. Louis, two of the IDs came back to other real
soldiers and a third had no match.
"He had lots and lots of different paperwork," said Kendall County
Sheriff's Deputy Wayne Dial. "How he obtained that paperwork, we have no
idea. He was absolutely not a veteran."
Robinson was charged with theft of government-supported property and
state benefits fraud, both felonies, police said.
He had received some services from the county before the verification
came through, police said.
Robinson is currently being held by the Madison, Wis., police
department, awaiting extradition. His wife, who Dixon said also
presented herself as a veteran, has not been charged with a crime.
The national alert also mentioned that Robinson and his wife have told
the same story in states across the country, including Minnesota and
Virginia.
While Kendall County authorities said this case is unusual, Dixon -- the
past national president of VietNow -- has seen frauds like this before.
"There have been many, many people posing as veterans," he said. "But
it's against the law to impersonate a veteran for financial gain. I got
enough veterans in this county that really need it."
Ron Cook, who handles veterans' issues in State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia's
Aurora office, said Robinson also received a gift certificate from them
under the same guise. Cook said the office plans to contact police.
"This kind of abuse is not what the money is set aside for," Cook said.
"I can show you a whole slug of deserving people who need help."
Anyone with further information is asked to call the Kendall County
Sheriff's Department at (630) 553-7500, local police or local
CrimeStoppers.
mhanley@scn1.com
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Larry Scott --
